The present invention relates generally to a device for improving the trigger pull technique of a marksman.
Marksmen and amateur shooters require a method of learning appropriate shooting techniques. One of the most subtle and difficult shooting techniques to learn is an appropriate pull of the trigger. Normally, an appropriate trigger pull is considered an in-line trigger pull. During an inline trigger pull, the trigger is pulled along the same line as the target and the point of aim at the gun by the marksman. If a marksman jerks the trigger to the left or to the right (or out of line), the barrel of the gun will move thereby causing a shot to miss the target. Thus, although the marksman has appropriately sighted the target, a subtle mistake such as not pulling the trigger appropriately will lead to an inaccurate shot. Consequently, an efficient method of teaching a learning an appropriate trigger pull is desired. The present invention discloses a device which indicates to the marksman when he has made an inappropriate lateral pull of the trigger. None of the prior art teaches a method of correcting lateral jerks in a marksman's trigger pull. One previous device comprises a contact strip or piece secured at one end to a block of insulating material fixed in one corner of a contact support. One end of the contact support is bifurcated to provide a tight embrace of a trigger guard. An expansion coil spring tends to press the contact piece into a normal position in the path of travel of the trigger when it is moved beyond the firing position. Thus, the device is placed on the trigger guard behind the trigger. Clearly, this device has several disadvantages. First, this device cannot indicate an inappropriate lateral jerk of the trigger by a marksman. The device only indicates that the user has pulled the trigger beyond the firing point. Thus, the device corrects the force applied to the trigger by the marksman, not the appropriate movement of the trigger through the trigger track opening. Second, the device places the measuring means on the trigger guard. As a result, the device cannot measure the movements of the trigger within the trigger track opening.